


maybe you'll take the long way home

by eelegy



Category: LOONA (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Not K-Pop Idols, Buff Chuu Agenda, Chuu Changes a Tire, Chuu Please Cover Carly Rae Jepsen Agenda, F/F, Fluff, Haseul goes 😳
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-27
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-18 16:09:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29736444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eelegy/pseuds/eelegy
Summary: Jiwoo's nursed her crush on her friend's big sister, Haseul, for years. She never expected to be in a situation where she'd be able to prove just what a keeper she could be.Haseul goes 😳 at big muscles.Yeojin thinks they're both idiots.
Relationships: Jo Haseul/Kim Jiwoo | Chuu
Comments: 5
Kudos: 96





	maybe you'll take the long way home

**Author's Note:**

> I've had a long and touching history of Chuuseul which is not reflected in my writing whatsoever, except for the Faberry Chuuseul Brainrot, and that's a shame!
> 
> When I first got into the pairing, this was the first plot I came up with (over a year ago!), but I just never got around to writing it. Well, that changed this week! Wrote this whole thing in only three days!
> 
> Entirely based on the way [Let's Get Lost by Carly Rae Jepsen](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2BGjJ_4BTk) is a Chuuseul anthem.

Jiwoo rolls over on the couch at the Im’s. She’d been there for hours already, showing up at the crack of dawn to bother Yeojin the first day back on winter break. “You wanna play another round of smash?”

“Aight. Yeah there’s no way you can beat me as Peach.” Yeojin sticks out her tongue as she chooses Ganondorf and loads the level. “You know I’m undefeated at smash this year, right?”

Jiwoo sticks her tongue out right back, pulling a gross face right after. “Yeah, well it’s only because now that I’m away at college, there’s no one to show you how it’s really done.” Jiwoo quickly brings Yeojin down to one life, laughing loudly as Yeojin howls about cheating and her Joy-Con drift.

Quickly, though, Yeojin dabs a final smash and launches Jiwoo down to just two, screaming at the TV, “Take that, asshole!”

Jiwoo smashes the buttons all the harder, standing up to gain an advantage, as Ganondorf uppercuts Peach off the edge of the stage. “Fuck!” She flops back down onto the couch as Yeojin’s Ganondorf does a victory lap as Peach is deposited on the stage once more.

They dance around each other on the upper levels for a minute, both careful with their one life, until Yeojin unleashes a brutal special attack while Peach is trapped at the very edge of the upper platform. Jiwoo shouts in shock as she desperately tries to save Peach, who is gracefully floating off the edge of the screen. She drops the controller to the side, shell shocked as she sees Ganondorf celebrate his victory, her own Peach branded with 2nd place. “Yeah! Fuck you! Beat that!” Yeojin had always been a cocky winner.

Jiwoo opens her mouth to declare she wants a rematch, only to be interrupted by her phone pinging. She fishes it out of her pocket to read her mom’s text: _Jiwoo, your dad got your favorite for dinner. Can you be home in twenty?_ Jiwoo shoots back a, _Sure can! Love you!_ 😘 and pockets her phone again, sighing dramatically. “If my mom didn’t need me home in twenty, I’d show you what a real winner looks like. You free Thursday?”

Yeojin nods. “Sure am. Free to kick your ass again, that is.”

Jiwoo pulls a face and makes her way to the closet to grab her coat just as Haseul descends the staircase looking every bit as much like a goddess as usual. Jiwoo dons her coat. “H-hey, Haseul.” Jiwoo realizes the hanger is still in her coat and feels like an uncool idiot as she has to take off her coat to return the hanger.

“Hey, Jiwoo! You’re finally back to put Yeojin in her place, huh?” Haseul grins at Jiwoo like she’s letting her in on an inside joke as she pulls her own coat on. Jiwoo’s face flames at the acknowledgement.

Yeojin, ever helpful, chooses this moment to skate into the hallway. “Yeah, Seul. I totally whooped her ass in Smash! Half a year at college and she’s just as much of a nerdy loser as you are!” Yeojin disappears into the kitchen with a squawk as Haseul throws a glove at her.

“Brat!” Haseul calls after her, but the smile on her face is fond. “Hey,” She turns back to Jiwoo, who has successfully recovered the hanger from her coat and is trying to look every bit as cool as she does not feel. “Need a ride?”

Jiwoo kind of feels like she's being puppeted by thirteen hamsters as she tries her best to act normal. She rubs the back of her neck and shrugs. “If it's not too much trouble, that would be really nice, thanks!”

Haseul smiles, her eyes curving into crescents that have Jiwoo blushing anew, and throws her arm around Jiwoo's shoulder, despite being shorter. She spins her keyring around the index finger of her other hand smoothly as she guides Jiwoo out the side door to the garage. She calls behind her for Yeojin, “Tell mom I should be back in thirty with the milk!”

Jiwoo hears Yeojin respond distractedly with a dismissive “Yeah, yeah,” the sound of another Smash match starting.

Jiwoo doesn't remember opening the car door or hopping in, but by the grace of God, she somehow zones back in as she wrangles the seatbelt across her body, having way more trouble than she thinks she should be. She can feel Haseul's eyes on her from the driver's seat, and blurts out an embarrassed, “I swear I've ridden in a car before!”

Haseul laughs and, to Jiwoo’s embarrassment, she leans over to tug a tangle at the mouth of the seatbelt dispenser loose. “I can't make fun of you for this. I broke it freshman year and I still haven't gotten around to fixing it.” She snaps Jiwoo in and pats her shoulder where the belt is as if to say _all set!_

Jiwoo barely registers any of it, focusing far too hard on examining Haseul's face up close. She didn't know Haseul had the tiniest band of freckles going over her nose, but now that she does, she is going to make her whole life about them. She wants to drop her eyes to Haseul's lips, too, because they're so close, but she remembers to act like a normal, cool person and jerks into action like an automata playing a canned response. “Haha, yeah!” Wow, Jiwoo, very cool.

Haseul seems placated enough, mercifully pulling back into her own space and opening the garage door with a button clipped to her visor. She grins at Jiwoo as she puts the car in reverse. “Fancy, right? My parents got the door installed this summer. Mom had been asking for one for years. It was the anniversary present.”

Jiwoo nods dumbly, because Haseul looks good like this, hand resting on the back of Jiwoo's headrest and body rotated fully towards Jiwoo. Her best friend, Jungeun, calls this the fuckboy method of reversing, but Jiwoo calls it a gift from God. Then, because she's never had the best filter, and the thought pops up in her head, she blurts out, “How did you break the seatbelt?”

Haseul looks startled at the question and Jiwoo has half a mind to apologize when Haseul blushes. Oh, Jiwoo's never seen a flustered Haseul. She likes it. “Well,” Haseul starts, expertly turning onto the road, “I was stupid and wild freshman year and,” she coughs, face reddening. “Don't make me say it.”

“Ah.” Jiwoo says, because she doesn't get it. And then, “ _Oh.”_ because she does. She was sitting in a seat where Haseul had-for sanity reasons she chooses not to finish that thought.

“Yeah, well,” Haseul recovers quickly enough, turning to Jiwoo, “let that be a lesson to you! Cars are for driving in!”

Jiwoo finds herself blushing too, but only because Haseul is so cute. And maybe also what happened in this seat. “Got it,” and then she gets the idea to tease Haseul. “No riding in the passenger's seat.”

Haseul looks over questioningly. “Huh?” And then quickly, her face reddens anew, “Oh my _God._ I deserve that one.” She shakes her head, looking back to the road. “I missed your sense of humor.”

Jiwoo preens at the compliment. She is feeling very cool, so she decides to attempt another conversation. “So how are things at your university?” Jiwoo regrets things halfway through her question. What kind of a mom question is that? How are things?

Luckily, Haseul doesn’t pick up any of the awkwardness that Jiwoo is wallowing in, smiling as she keeps a careful eye on the road. “Lemme tell you. Junior year is serious business! I messed around way too much my first two years.”

Jiwoo tries very hard not to think about the way she’s sitting on the site of one such “mess around.”

Haseul continues, “anyway, don’t make the same mistake. Take it from me, it’s more than fine to have some fun, but I didn’t actually do any real learning until second semester sophomore year.” Haseul glaces over at Jiwoo, and Jiwoo embarrassedly looks away, feeling very silly. She’s allowed to look at Haseul. Haseul is literally talking to her. “You've always been so straight laced though, right?”

Jiwoo thinks about doing body shots off her (very irresponsible) RA, Jinsol, the night before she came back for break. “Uh-” And about her on-again-off-again thing with her RA’s best friend, Sooyoung, who she had just found out is about to be her TA for her literature class next semester. “Well-” And ongoing fling with her roommate, Chaewon, that they'd promised to end at least five times “Er-”

“Or,” Haseul grins at her, eyes sharp as she pulls up to a stoplight, “maybe you party hard too?”

Jiwoo gulps, so, so aware of her complete inability to lie. She opens her mouth with the assumption that her improv classes will somehow allow her to redirect the conversation, but what comes out of her mouth is “I don't really party but I do mess around a lot.”

As soon as it's out of her mouth, her brain catches up and she slaps a hand over her mouth, staring forward in alarm. She can feel Haseul's wide eyes on her. Why did she say that? Oh my god, Haseul is going to think she's-well, she isn't exactly a _prude_ but still…

She's glad her eyes are on the road when the light turns green, even if it's because she's too mortified to meet Haseul's eyes. “Green,” she gasps out through her hand, and Haseul jerks into motion, hitting the gas maybe a little strongly for a residential area.

They sit in silence for a while before Jiwoo finally collects herself and begins to attempt damage control. “Sorry that was-”

“No, you're _so_ within your right, I was just surprised. I-”

“No, it was TMI, and I can't believe-”

“I asked the question, I knew-”

Haseul is interrupted by a popping sound from her car. They both look at one another and Haseul pulls over to the side of the road carefully. Haseul steps out first, Jiwoo following. They both stand staring at the right front tire, clearly deflated and sporting a very prominent nail.

Jiwoo blames her panic in the car earlier for her mind immediately supplying her with the image of Haseul in a tank top, muscles flexing as she hauls on the lug nut wrench, grinning at Jiwoo the whole time. She stands, moving towards Jiwoo, who is perched on the hood of the car. She comes to stand between Jiwoo's legs, a wicked grin on her face. She hooks her arms around Jiwoo's neck loosely and leans in, both of their hair curtaining them from the outside world. Haseul leans in and Jiwoo feels her breath fan across her lips as she-

“Okay,” Haseul rolls up her sleeves, tearing Jiwoo violently out of her fantasy. She is looking critically at the damage. “I'm not handy at all. I totally lied to my stepdad about knowing how to change a tire.” She pauses, looking at Jiwoo for a second, who is still dazed, staring blankly back. Haseul must interpret that is Jiwoo being just as lost, because she continues. “So I think I have the tow truck's number in my glove compartment.”

Haseul is halfway around the front of the car when Jiwoo finally shakes herself out of the almost kiss scenario. “Wait!” She waves her hands in front of her. “I can change the tires if you have a spare in the back.”

Haseul stops and turns to her, eyebrows raised. “You’re full of surprises today!”

Jiwoo feels her cheeks flush for the millionth time today. “Yeah, well.” She rubs her arm shyly.

Haseul waves her over to the back and Jiwoo obediently follows, helping Haseul get her things out of the trunk. Her eyes catch on a flash of red lace below the armful she just picked up before Haseul snatches it up and stuffs it in her pocket, flustered. “They aren’t mine!” Jiwoo’s eyebrows shoot up as she watches Haseul’s furrow. “That...doesn’t make be sound better, does it?”

Jiwoo muscles the, _she’s an experienced woman!,_ thoughts out of her mind while trying to play it cool. “You really did mess around, didn’t you?”

Haseul sighs, half resigned, half wistful. “Yeah.”

Jiwoo and Haseul deposit the last bits of Haseul’s things in the back seat (which Jiwoo also has to wonder about now) and they both circle back around to the trunk, now empty. Jiwoo finds the latches and lifts the floor of the trunk while Haseul watches with interest.

“I didn’t even know you could lift that up,” Haseul says with a little awe.

Jiwoo grins. _Finally_. She’s cool to Haseul. Maybe...Jiwoo nods, hooking the loop to hold the floor up on its designed hook. “All the stuff you need is right here.” She’s suddenly so glad she only just learned to drive last summer before she went off to college. She knows she wouldn’t have remembered all of this if she’d learned it a few years ago. She gets the jack and handle out of their fastenings and hands them to Haseul before realizing she has a real opportunity to show off.

Jiwoo’s suddenly so glad the Ims keep their house warm so she always goes over in a sleeveless shirt. She pulls off her hoodie and tosses it over the open trunk door, ignoring the brisk air prickling at her skin. After taking the lug nut wrench in one hand and unscrewing the wing nut, she braces herself against the back of the car and pulls the spare tire out one-handed, making sure to flex her arm and back muscles extra hard. She glances over to Haseul whose eyes are glued to Jiwoo’s deltoid. Mission success. She brings the tire over to the front of the car and sets it down flat.

She then gets to work loosening the lug nuts. She can feel Haseul’s eyes on her as she puts her weight into it, arms and back flexing as she works. She’s also glad she ditched the hoodie as she feels a bead of sweat drip under the neckline of her shirt. Once she’s got them how she wants them, she returns to Haseul, who she can tell, with a bit of pride, is trying very hard not to seem as if she was staring just a moment before. “Could I grab the jack?” She asks innocently, reaching out for the tools.

Haseul looks at the things in her hand, offering both sheepishly. “I’m sorry,” she says, “I really have no idea what any of this does.”

Jiwoo grins. “I’ve got this! Just sit back and relax!” She takes what she needs from Haseul and kneels down at the side of the car, ducking her head under to find the jack point. Once she does, she sets the jack down there before standing up and brushing off her jeans. “I need bricks. Or, like, big rocks.

Haseul follows her into the park next to the road they’re stopped on, both of them looking for anything to block the car from rolling. “Aha!” Haseul brandishes a loose brick just as Jiwoo finds a big rock. They grin at each other as they return to the car.

After blocking the opposite tire, Jiwoo makes her way back to the jack, Haseul in tow. Jiwoo carefully jacks the car up. Even though it really doesn’t take much effort, she can still hear Haseul gasp at her car being lifted off the ground, and when Jiwoo turns at the sound, Haseul is looking at her as if she were the one lifting the car on her own. And you know what? Jiwoo will take it. She stands back up and offers her hand. “Lug nut wrench, ma’am?”

Haseul shakes her head fondly, handing Jiwoo the wrench. “This is how you get the guys, huh?”

Jiwoo flushes at the accusation and feels like she has to deny it. The thing is, she’s not exactly wrong. Jiwoo _did_ find herself in several beds after offering help in times of need. It was never on purpose or anything, but it kept happening. Jiwoo was kind, yeah, and she was horny. Sue her. So the only thing she says is, “and girls.”

Haseul’s eyes curve into crescents. “Oh, me too.” Haseul pauses and her smile gets a little more teasing. “And who knew my sister’s friend was such a player?”

Jiwoo flaps her mouth a few times before giving up and returning to the tire. She drops to her knees and finishes taking off the tire, rolling it to the side where Haseul catches it. After seating the spare tire in place, she makes a show of stretching, wrench in hand. If Haseul had already caught her, what does she have to lose by being a little more shameless? Jiwoo flexes her arms, grinning at Haseul.

Haseul grins back, rolling her eyes with a dismissive, “Whatever!” but Jiwoo sees the way her eyes remain fixed on her arms as she works to tighten the nuts.

Jiwoo is feeling pretty good as she returns the tools to the places in the trunk before lowering the floor. She watches Haseul try to wrangle the flat tire into the trunk. “Can I help?”

“I-” Haseul huffs as she manages to slide it in. “I got it, thanks.” Haseul dusts off her hands and turns to Jiwoo. “Thank you for the help,” She says earnestly, and Jiwoo, for all her confidence actually doing the job, is right back to feeling like the little sister’s uncool friend.

“I-” she scratches her nose awkwardly. “Yeah, of course! Least I could do after you offered the ride.” She grabs her hoodie off the trunk door as Haseul goes to close it and slips it back on.

Haseul shakes her head, smiling fondly. “It was above and beyond and you know it.”

Jiwoo stutters out a reply, face flaming. “Theres-I-you-I just wanted to help out!”

Haseul smiles slyly at her as the both get back in the car. “I'll bet you say that to everyone you're trying to seduce.”

Jiwoo squawks and before her brain can pull itself together to come up with something clever, her mouth is halfway through saying, “Only when I'm down bad.”

As soon as it's out of her mouth, Jiwoo slaps a hand over her mouth. Oh my _god_. Why did her mouth have to be so fast? She stares wide eyed at Haseul, who is staring right back, eyebrows raised. “Well.” She says simply, and Jiwoo has no idea what that means, until Haseul continues. “It _is_ working.”

Jiwoo sees the dusting of pink on Haseul's cheeks and she kinda, sorta feels like the hottest shit ever. She's about to reply when her phone chimes with a text from her mom.

_Are you okay, honey??? Your dinner is getting cold!_

Jiwoo feels immediately guilty. She'd entirely forgotten about dinner while fixing the tire.

_Yes mom!!! Haseul gave me a ride home and we got a flat tire!_

Jiwoo puts her phone down and looks at Haseul apologetically. “I do really have to get home. My mom is getting worried.”

Haseul nods and pulls carefully back onto the road. “Definitely. Let's get you home. I still have to grab the milk and get back too. Thanks again for your help!”

The rest of the ride is quiet and pleasant, and when Jiwoo gets out at her house, Haseul stops her with a gentle hand on her arm.

“I wanted to know if you wanted to grab dinner this Friday. Like, romantically.” Haseul smiles at her, and Jiwoo blushes at Haseul's confidence even as she puts herself out there.

“Yeah, definitely. That sounds so good. Yes.” Jiwoo forces herself to stop speaking, but Haseul clearly thinks she's cute, because she leans over the center console and gives Jiwoo a quick peck on the cheek.

“Friday,” she says.

“Friday!” Jiwoo parrots back, giddy from the kiss as she hops out of the car, waving one final time when she gets to the door.

* * *

Jiwoo receives a text that night from Haseul.

_Just confirming Friday!!_

Jiwoo responds affirmatively, and before she can put her phone down, another text comes in.

 _And you looked really good in the sleeveless shirt..._ 😳

**Author's Note:**

> follow me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/folklorbit)


End file.
